''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by

Maureen Jennings Maureen Jennings (born 1939) is a British Canadian writer, most well known for the ''Detective Murdoch Series'', the basis for the television series '' Murdoch Mysteries''. She is credited as a Creative Consultant and occasionally writer for the ...

and stars

Yannick Bisson Yannick Denis Bisson (born May 16, 1969) is a Canadian film and television actor and director best known to international audiences for playing Detective William Murdoch on the series ''Murdoch Mysteries''. Early life Bisson was born in Montrea ...

as the fictional William Murdoch, a police detective working in Toronto, Ontario in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The series was titled ''The Artful Detective'' on the

Ovation The ovation ( la, ovatio from ''ovare'': to rejoice) was a form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, p ...

cable TV network in the United States, until season twelve.

Synopsis

The series takes place in Toronto starting in 1895 and follows

Detective William Murdoch '' Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian drama television series produced by Shaftesbury Films that premièred in January 2008 and was broadcast on Citytv in Canada and on Alibi in the UK. It was picked up by CBC for its sixth and seventh season ...

(Yannick Bisson) of the Toronto Constabulary, who solves many of his cases using methods of detection that were unusual at the time. These methods include

fingerprinting A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

(referred to as "finger marks" in the series), blood testing,

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

, and

trace evidence Trace evidence is created when objects make contact. The material is often transferred by heat or induced by contact friction. The importance of trace evidence in criminal investigations was shown by Dr. Edmond Locard in the early 20th century. ...

. Some episodes feature

anachronistic An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

technology whereby Murdoch sometimes uses the existing

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

of his time to improvise a crude

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

of a technology that would be more readily recognizable to the show's 21st-century audience. In one episode, for instance, he creates a primitive version of

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

to locate a sunken ship in

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. In still another, a foreign police officer has a photograph that Murdoch needs as evidence, so Murdoch asks the other officer to overlay the photograph with a grid numerically coded for the colour in each square, and to transmit the numerical data to Murdoch via

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

—with the result that the foreign officer has essentially sent Murdoch a

bitmap image In computing, a bitmap is a mapping from some domain (for example, a range of integers) to bits. It is also called a bit array or bitmap index. As a noun, the term "bitmap" is very often used to refer to a particular bitmapping application: ...

they call a "

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

"—a

telefax Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...

. This aspect of the show has been described as introducing elements of the steampunk genre of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

, although it is not a standard theme of all episodes. Detective Murdoch is assisted by the three other main characters: Inspector Brackenreid ( Thomas Craig), Doctor Julia Ogden (

Hélène Joy Hélène Joy is an Australian-born Canadian actress. She is best known for her work in television series '' Durham County'' and '' Murdoch Mysteries''. Biography Joy was born in Perth and raised in Australia. She began acting in Kewdale Senior ...

), and the inexperienced but eager Constable George Crabtree (

Jonny Harris Jonathan Harris (born September 22, 1975) is a Canadian actor and comedian from Newfoundland and Labrador.pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

usually helps by revealing a great deal of useful evidence to aid Murdoch in solving cases. Throughout the series, Murdoch's growing infatuation with her, and his inability to express his feelings, provide a light subplot. In the fifth season, after Dr. Ogden is married to Dr. Darcy Garland (a colleague she met in Buffalo), a new doctor is introduced, Doctor Emily Grace (

Georgina Reilly Georgina Reilly (born February 12, 1986) is an English/Canadian film and television actress best known to date for her roles in the films '' Pontypool'' and ''This Movie Is Broken'', the television series '' The L.A. Complex'' and '' Murdoch Mys ...

). She and George Crabtree show some romantic interest in each other. Real history is an important element in most episodes, and the plots, though fictitious, sometimes involve real people, such as

Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...

H G Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Oliver Mowat Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario and one of ...

, Orville and Wilbur Wright,

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

, Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...

, H. P. Lovecraft,

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

and Helen Keller. Future events are often foreshadowed. For example, it is implied that secret British-American government co-operation has produced a highly advanced aircraft similar to an airship, and Crabtree and Murdoch allude to the building of a secret government facility in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

"at Concession 51" (an allusion to

Area 51 Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport ...

). Characters also refer to actual inventions of the 19th century and extrapolate from them to future inventions such as microwave ovens,

night-vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

, computers, the games "

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddin ...

" (marketed as "Clue" in the U.S.) and " Hangman", the toy

Silly Putty Silly Putty is a toy based on silicone polymers that have unusual physical properties. It bounces, but it breaks when given a sharp blow, and it can also flow like a liquid. It contains a viscoelastic liquid silicone, a type of non-Newtonian f ...

, and a silencer for small arms. Another underlying theme of the series involves the fact that Murdoch is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in what was at the time a predominantly

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

city and the prejudices that he occasionally encounters as a result. Other subplots that overarch multiple episodes include women's suffrage movement in Canada, a movement that was taking place during the time the series is set in, and the discrimination towards racial minorities in Toronto and same-sex relationships during that time period.

History

The series has its origins in 2004 as a three episode made-for-TV movie, starring

Peter Outerbridge Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the CW action series ''Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Hank" Johanssen in ''Orphan Black'', Bob Corbett ...

in the lead role. Its original title at that time was ''Murder 19C: The Detective Murdoch Mysteries''. In 2006, a thirteen-episode series based on the novels was picked up, but there were questions about Outerbridge's continuing availability, since he was already starring in another series, ''

ReGenesis ''ReGenesis'' is a Canadian science-fiction television series produced by The Movie Network and Movie Central in conjunction with Shaftesbury Films. The series, which ran for four seasons from 2004 to 2008, revolves around the scientists of No ...

''. By 2007, Yannick Bisson became the lead in what was now called ''Murdoch Mysteries''. The series debuted on Citytv on January 20, 2008. The program was well received, both by the audience and by the critics: in the summer of 2008, it was nominated for fourteen

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States a ...

by the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

. Critics were surprised, however, that Bisson was not among the nominees. The critics were also surprised in November when ''Murdoch Mysteries'' won only two Geminis. Meanwhile, ''Murdoch Mysteries'' was renewed for four more seasons between 2009 and 2012. In 2010 the program, which had previously been filmed only in Canada, went to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to film an episode. One big fan of the show was Canadian Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

, who agreed to play a small role in one of that season's episodes. The episode in which he appeared, playing a "clueless cop who fails to recognize then prime minister

", aired in late July 2011. After Rogers Media decided not to continue the series beyond its fifth season,

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

picked up the show for its sixth season, which premiered in January 2013. The network has subsequently renewed the series repeatedly on a season-to-season basis. It has been one of the CBC's most highly rated programs, regularly watched by more than 1.4 million viewers as of January 2014. In the U.S. season 12 aired on Ovation starting in April 2019, back under its original title of ''Murdoch Mysteries''. Season 13 started in the U.S. in December 2019, on Acorn TV.

Episodes

Guest stars

''Murdoch Mysteries'' has, at times, been known for using stunt casting of famous actors or non-actor personalities in guest roles."Taking the stuffing out of period drama: More steampunk than Avonlea, Murdoch Mysteries aims for big ratings as it moves to the CBC". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', December 31, 2012. Noted examples have included

, at the time the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

, in a small role as a police desk clerk;

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

portraying writer

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

; a special Christmas episode which included appearances by

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

Brendan Coyle David "Brendan" Coyle (born 2 December 1962) is an English-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for ''The Weir'' in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries '' North & South'', Robert T ...

Kelly Rowan Kelly Rowan (born October 26, 1965) is a Canadian film and television actress and former model (profession), fashion model. A native of Ottawa, Rowan studied acting in London and New York City before working as a model. She was featured in the ho ...

and television news anchor

Peter Mansbridge Peter Mansbridge (born July 6, 1948) is a British-born Canadian retired news anchor. From 1988 to 2017, he was chief correspondent for CBC News and anchor of '' The National,'' CBC Television's flagship nightly newscast. He was also host of CB ...

; an episode which featured

David Onley David Charles Onley (born June 12, 1950) is a former Canadian journalist who served as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

, the

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province bu ...

at the time of production, appearing as his own forerunner

; and two different episodes in which former ''

Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...

'' investors

Arlene Dickinson Arlene Dickinson (born October 8, 1956) is a South African Canadian businesswoman, investor, author, and television personality. She is the general partner of District Ventures Capital and CEO of Venturepark. Dickinson joined the cast of the C ...

and

David Chilton __NOTOC__ David Harold Chilton (1951–1997) was an American pastor, Reconstructionist, speaker and author of several books on economics, eschatology and Christian Worldview from Placerville, California. He contributed three books on eschatolo ...

guest starred. Dickinson portrayed a business magnate named Miss Dickinson. ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', February 13, 2015. and Chilton a character named Mr. Chilton (aka the "Wealthy Barber"). In 2013, ''Murdoch Mysteries'' aired a fictional crossover with another CBC Television crime drama, ''

Republic of Doyle ''Republic of Doyle'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series set in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which aired on CBC Television from January 6, 2010, to December 10, 2014. The show stars Allan Hawco as private investigator and f ...

''."Celebrating the Can-combo of Republic of Doyle and Murdoch Mysteries"
. ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', November 25, 2013. With the two shows set over 100 years apart,

Allan Hawco Allan Hawco is a Canadian writer, actor, and producer from Bell Island, Newfoundland. He is best known for his roles in the series '' Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'', ''Republic of Doyle'', and '' The Book of Negroes'', and the television limited seri ...

appeared on the November 25, 2013, episode of ''Murdoch Mysteries'' as Jacob Doyle, a 19th-century ancestor of his regular character Jake Doyle, while Bisson appeared on the January 29, 2014, episode of ''Republic of Doyle'' as Detective Bill Murdoch, a 21st-century descendant of Detective William Murdoch. The end of the latter episode references the previous episode. In 2017, Colin Mochrie appeared on ''Murdoch Mysteries'' as a hotel detective, after joking on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he was the only Canadian actor left who had never done a guest spot on the show.

Production

''Murdoch Mysteries'' is produced and developed by

Shaftesbury Films Shaftesbury Films is a film, television and digital media production company founded by Christina Jennings in 1987. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Shaftesbury is a creator and producer of original content for television an ...

in association with Citytv,

ITV Studios Global Entertainment ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 through ...

and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, and the

Canadian Television Fund The Canadian Television Fund (CTF, french: Fonds canadien de télévision - FCT) supported the production and broadcast of Canadian television programs. A non-profit corporation operating as a public-private partnership, the CTF was financed by c ...

. It features the distinctive theme music of the composer

Robert Carli Robert Carli (born February 10, 1970) is a Canadian film and television composer and saxophonist. He is the composer of 11 seasons of '' Murdoch Mysteries'' (CBC), which airs in 120 countries and airs in the U.S. as ''The Artful Detective'' on t ...

. Prior to being picked up as a regular weekly series, three television movies, ''

Except the Dying ''Except the Dying'' is a 2004 made-for-TV film starring Peter Outerbridge, Colm Meaney, Keeley Hawes, William B. Davis and Flora Montgomery. It was adapted by Janet MacLean from the novel of the same name by Maureen Jennings. Plot In this fil ...

'', ''

Poor Tom Is Cold ''Poor Tom Is Cold'' is a 2004 made-for-TV film starring Peter Outerbridge, Colm Meaney, Keeley Hawes and Flora Montgomery. The second film to feature the character of William Murdoch and his unique ways of doing detective work, the film is base ...

'' and ''

Under the Dragon's Tail ''Under the Dragon's Tail'' is a 2005 made-for-TV film starring Peter Outerbridge, Matthew MacFadzean, Hélène Joy, and Flora Montgomery. It was adapted by Janet MacLean from the novel by Maureen Jennings of the same name. Plot This is the t ...

'', aired on Bravo Canada in 2004. These films starred

as William Murdoch, Matthew MacFadzean as George Crabtree,

Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and '' Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Ha ...

as Julia Ogden, and Colm Meaney as Inspector Brackenreid. Seasons one and two were filmed at the Toronto Film Studios facility on Eastern Avenue in Toronto. However, that facility was closed at the end of 2008, forcing the third season to be filmed elsewhere in Toronto, in the area near Kipling Subway to the west of the city. Main Street Bridge

For seasons one, two and three, filming locations included the Galt district of

Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridg ...

. Sidewalks and driveways were covered in earth, and in season one the Dobbie Mansion was used for about a week of indoor filming. Parts of the opening episode of season three were filmed in Bristol in England. In August 2010 production on the fourth season began and continued through November 2010 with filming in Toronto and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...

filmed a cameo appearance as a constable in the fourth season on October 15, 2010, when he visited the set with his daughter. Filming of season five began in July 2011 and included a visit to

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

in the Yukon. In September 2011,

Rogers Media Rogers Media Inc., operating as Rogers Sports & Media, is a Canadian subsidiary of Rogers Communications that owns the company's mass media and sports properties, such as the Citytv and Omni Television terrestrial television stations, Sportsnet, ...

decided not to continue with ''Murdoch Mysteries'' beyond the fifth season. In response to the cancellation of the series Christina Jennings, executive producer and CEO of Shaftesbury Films said: ''Murdoch Mysteries'' was described as an "odd fit" for Citytv's schedule, which consists of more contemporary, urban hip, imported programming. Shaftesbury's British partners in the production of the series, broadcaster UKTV and the international distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment, were both interested in additional seasons. Christina Jennings approached Kirstine Stewart, executive vice-president of CBC's English services, about continuing the series, and she felt that "a home at CBC made absolute sense". Reports of the change of broadcasters and commitment for a sixth season appeared in the evening of November 15 with the press releases being issued on November 16. Production of the sixth season began in April 2012 to be ready for CBC in September 2012, but later the premiere for season six was changed to January 2013, and instead an encore of season five aired in September. Production of the 13th season started in May 2019. On June 1, 2022, CBC announced the sixteenth season, which again will have twenty four episodes.

Web series

In addition to the regular television series, several short run

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

have also been created under the ''Murdoch Mysteries'' banner. In 2011, ''Murdoch Mysteries: The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs'' debuted on citytv.com, blending live action and

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

to depict a storyline in which Crabtree, Murdoch, Dr. Ogden and Inspector Brackenreid were forced to battle

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

who were attempting to kill

. The storyline of the webseries was also integrated into the regular television series; within the main television plot Crabtree, as an aspiring writer, spent much of the season working on ''The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs'' as a

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

manuscript. ''The Curse of the Lost Pharaohs'' garnered nominations for Best Digital Program: Fiction at the 2012 Emmy Awards, Cross-Platform Project, Fiction at the 2012

Banff World Media Festival The Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is dedicated to world ...

and Cross-Platform Project, Fiction at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards. The 2012 season web series ''The Murdoch Effect'' featured a

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

plotline in which William Murdoch suddenly found himself transported to the 21st century, and had to solve a case with eerie parallels to one he was investigating in his own timeline. The 2013 series ''Nightmare on Queen Street'' featured an interactive story in which the viewer was called upon to solve the case by piecing together clues from each webisode. This series also garnered a nomination for Best Cross-Platform Project, Fiction at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards.

Broadcast

In Australia, ''Murdoch Mysteries'' airs on 13th Street Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm, with the latest series also airing at 7:30 pm on Saturdays. In 2017, Channel 7two ran three episodes back to back every Thursday night commencing from 8.30 pm. The series airs in the United Kingdom on

Alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

(formerly known as UKTV Drama). In the United States, ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is broadcast on several digital subchannel networks, streaming services and even some local network affiliates: * Episodes of ''Murdoch Mysteries'' are broadcast on several networks, usually at night or early in the morning on weekends with some episode overlap. Digital subchannel networks such as

Retro TV Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through t ...

and NBC's Cozi TV subchannel provide broadcasts at various dates and times. *

American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and indepe ...

acquired the first season of ''Murdoch Mysteries'' from ITV Global Entertainment in 2009 for broadcast syndication to public-television stations throughout the U.S. * Genesis International took over the American syndication rights to ''Murdoch Mysteries'' after they acquired the rights from ITV Studios Global Entertainment and American Public Television in mid-summer 2014 for broadcast syndication to commercial television stations in the U.S. Like the digital subchannel networks, several of these stations, including

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

network flagship

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neighbor ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

WFMZ-TV WFMZ-TV (channel 69) is an independent television station in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Locally-based Maranatha Broadcasting Company owns the station and Wilmington, Delaware–licensed MeTV affiliate WDPN-TV. Both stations share studios on Eas ...

in Pennsylvania's

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

region,

KHOU KHOU (channel 11) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Conroe-licensed Quest station KTBU (channel 55). Both stations share studios on Westheimer Road near Uptow ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and

WEWS-TV WEWS-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by the E. W. Scripps Company since its inception in 1946, making it one of two stations that have been built and signed on by ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, also carry the show overnights during the early morning hours. * The series began airing on the

cable TV network in 2013 under the title ''The Artful Detective''. Starting with Season 12, the show will now go by its original name of ''Murdoch Mysteries'' on Ovation. The network also shared the series with the

Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...

on certain stations on Sundays at 2AM ET until June 2020 when it was removed from some stations. In late July 2020,

ION TV Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented ente ...

's ION Plus network picked up the series and started airing it on Sundays. The series also available to stream all seasons on

Acorn TV The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

. * , Seasons 1–6 are being streamed on the Hulu video, on-demand subscription service. * In 2013, Acorn.tv began showing the first seven seasons on its online premium service and made Season 8 available in 2015. * Amazon Prime made the series available adding season 8 in 2015. In France, the series is shown on

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

and has been retitled '' Les Enquêtes de Murdoch'' (Murdoch Investigations). In Greece, ''Murdoch Mysteries'' airs on

ERT2 ERT2 ( el, ΕΡΤ2, "ERT Dyo") is a Greek free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation ( el, EPT – Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση). It is the c ...

under the title ''Ντετέκτιβ Μέρντοχ'' (''Detective Murdoch'') on Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 pm

Home video releases

Acorn Media RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn DVD, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television. History Launched in 1997, Acorn Media U. ...

has released ten seasons of ''Murdoch Mysteries'' on DVD and Blu-ray in North America and Australia. ITV Studios Home Entertainment has released four seasons on DVD in the UK and has also released a box set of the seasons 1–3. Season 4 onward, are available through Amazon UK, but in Region 1 format only. The first seven seasons are available for home viewing via streaming from Acorn.

DVDs

Blu-ray

Season sets

TV movies

Christmas Special

References

External links

*
''Murdoch Mysteries''
at

''The Artful Detective''
at

* {{Murdoch Mysteries 2008 Canadian television series debuts 2000s Canadian crime drama television series 2010s Canadian crime drama television series Canadian mystery television series Detective television series Television series set in the 1890s Television series set in the 1900s Television series revived after cancellation Television shows set in Toronto Television shows filmed in Toronto Television series by Shaftesbury Films Television series by ITV Studios CBC Television original programming Citytv original programming Victorian era in popular culture 2020s Canadian crime drama television series Canadian historical television series